When the War in Gaza is Over
The October 7th attack was an act of total evil. Israel had a right to respond with shock an awe to destroy as many Hamas fighters and leaders as possible. However, Israel's response had to be intelligent, not just a "f-them up" response.
As I have watched this seven-month long war unfold, these questions emerged from the “fog of war.”
First: The IDF has destroyed farms, orchards, homes, warehouses, factories, schools, hospitals, mosques, UN facilities and apartment buildings. They claim that Hamas was embedded in all these targets. I accept that claim as true.
My question is: Do they have a plan to financially compensate the innocent civilian owners whose property was used by Hamas against their will? The analogy is that someone steals your car, uses it in a crime and then destroys it during the police chase. Who pays for the replacement?
Second: The IDF has created a half-mile wide "no man's land" buffer zone between Gaza and Israel.
My question is: Do they have a plan to financially compensate the innocent civilian owners whose land has been appropriated by the IDF?
Third: Netanyahu has said from day one that he wants to eliminate Hamas.
My question is: how do you "eliminate" an enemy who does not wear uniforms, and can melt into the civilian woodwork? Also, how do you "eliminate" an enemy whose political leaders live in Qatar, out of the reach of the IDF and Mossad?
Fourth: Let us assume, for the purpose of argument, that the IDF totally eliminates Hamas.
My question is: How in God's name can you believe that destroying a significant part of Gaza and killing thousands of civilians will not create more terrorists?
Fifth: Netanyahu has refused to consider the Palestinian Authority as the successor of Hamas in Gaza.
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My question is: what is Netanyahu's plan for the "Day After" the war is over?
At the end of WWII, the Allies worked hard to bring online vetted “new” German and Japanese leadership, even those some of those leaders had fought against the Allies. History shows that this approach was successful. Sadly, we forgot what we learned at the end of WWII when we created a leadership vacuum in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan.
I have looked, but do not see any evidence that Israel has plans to insert a cadre of vetted and acceptable replacement leaders ready to take over in Gaza.
Let me end with this statement. I first went to the Middle East when I spent two weeks in Egypt in 1981. Since then, I worked on a USAID project in Jordan, visited Syria, and have led MBA students on business observation trips to Israel and Türkiye.
What the people of Israel have created is a testament to human creativity. It is special and must be protected.
Israel’s future, indeed, the future of the Middle East, however, will require all in that “neighborhood” figure out something that they have never done. They must create an environment where the Palestinian people of Gaza and West Bank and the Arabs of the Middle East see the survival of Israel as an integral part of their destiny. It will also require that the people of Israel embrace the idea that a prosperous Palestinian country of Gaza and the West Bank is its only hope for lasting peace.
For that to happen, the Israelis, their Palestinian cousins and their Arab neighbors must fundamentally change how they think and feel about ‘the others.’
As horrific as October 7th and the seven month war have been, what the Allies accomplished after the five-year long WWII ended shows what I have described above is indeed possible.
YOU CAN READ THE FOLLOWING WSJ ARTICLE FOR FREE.